Mission One
by TheDimensionOfWords
Summary: AU. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise, crewed by the best and the brightest. Captain Uhura has been given command for the historic five year mission, and she is balanced with First Officer Rand, CMO Chapel, Science Officer Marcus, and Chief Engineer Masters. This is the story of how this crew came to be and their first mission together.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Feeling a hand rest gently on her elbow, Uhura turned to find the communication's officer at her side. "Sir, you are receiving a call for headquarters," the Caitian woman murmured quietly so the whole bridge wouldn't hear.

Uhura pulled in a breath, she had been waiting for this call. She wondered if she should just say good-bye to her career now, before getting her talk down. "I'll take it in my quarters, M'Ress, thank you." The other woman nodded sympathetically and whispered a quick good luck as Uhura turned to make her way off the bridge, her captain catching her eye with the same weight of dread in his eyes.

Entering the turbolift, it was all she could do but not lean against the wall, but she kept her shoulders straight and proud. Because she was, she knew what she had done was in the moral right, even if not quite in line with Starfleet's laws.

During their last mission, she had refused direct orders, endangering both her ship and the prime directive, possibly the Federation itself. That in itself wasn't why she was proud, it had been the hardest decision of her life. The fact that she had saved the populace of a moon, its planet, and the life on each might get her out of really hot water. But her reckless behavior would, she was sure, at the least get her demoted, permanently, from first officer to a lower rank. Her captain and their crew were on her side, even though it was his orders and their lives she had put on the line. They had seen the outcome first hand, trusted and knew her from their three years serving together.

Exiting the turbolift and hurrying to her quarters on the officer's deck, Uhura decided she might as well get this over with. Straightening her uniform, she took a seat at her desk and flicked on the view screen.

She was surprised to find the gently smiling face of the Admiral still referred to as Number One from her time serving as a first herself, and not some grim firing squad. Covering this surprise, she sat with a straight back and greeted, "Admiral."

"Commander," the Admiral continued to smile in such a friendly manner that Uhura felt some of her fears relax. "As I'm sure you guess, I am making this call due to the recent actions you took in the line of duty."

Well, this was it. "…Yes sir, I understand." What little hope she had at the Admiral's relaxed behavior was as quick to leave as it had bloomed.

"Good. Be on the watch to receive orders for the ship you will command within a few days," the Admiral looked down to the PADD's she had neatly arranged across her desk, seeming ready to dismiss her.

"…Command?" The piercing blue eyes returned to her again. "Pardon sir, but I thought you were going to demote me, if not fire me completely."

"Some here certainly wanted to, but the rest saw your actions for what they were," the Admiral explained, face turned to calm seriousness. "Brilliant. You are being held back from your true potential by your current position, so a promotion is in order. You are a true assent to the 'Fleet, we recognize this, even though you will be our youngest captain yet."

"I am unsure how to respond to such an honor," Uhura found herself saying, before worrying that what was meant as humility might sound like she was unsure she could handle such a job.

The Admiral didn't even acknowledge it, saying instead, "Between you and me, I believe you will be given command of one of the flag ships that are being assigned to their five year missions."

At this, Uhura was truly speechless, which saying a lot for someone who used her words to get the majority of her work done.

"And if my hunch is right," the Admiral continued, selecting a PADD and reading over its contents. "You should look for a CMO and a communications officer you would like to suggest. The rest of the crew will be assigned by us, or already on board."

"Yes sir," Uhura finally felt a smile begin to grow on her face. She was going to be a captain! "I believe I already have two in mind."

"I thought you might," the Admiral met her eyes one last time. "Congratulations Captain, you have earned this. Number One out." And with that, the screen faded back to light gray.

Uhura slumped back in her chair, mind reeling with this sudden turn around, before standing to hurry down to sickbay.

...(au)...

It was a slow day for the medical personal, now that most casualties of their last adventure where healed or nearly so, and she found Christine right away. Waving cheerily as their Andorian CMO rolled her eyes at them, Uhura pulled Christine out into the hallway and into an empty rec room.

"What is it Nyota?" Chapel asked, bemused by her friend's behavior.

"I got that call I was waiting for," she beamed.

Chapel now looked confused, trying to piece together her actions. "Wait… then why are you so happy?"

"Because, due to some strange miracle, they are promoting me to captain and giving me a ship," Uhura stated, her excitement evident in her tone.

"They… they what?" Chapel's eyes widened. "Repeat that for me."

"If I knew better, I'd say you need your ears checked by a doctor," Uhura teased in good humor. She was sure she would never stop smiling. "I'm going to get a starship."

Chapel's surprise switched to pride. "So they finally pulled their heads out of their asses and are giving you a command? I never thought I'd see the day. You know what ship yet?"

Uhura shook her head both in negative and at her friend's colorful wording. "Within days though, I should. The Admiral I spoke to hinted that I might want to secure myself a CMO though…" She looked expectant.

Chapel caught on quick, "You want me to join you?"

"I wouldn't trust anyone else," Uhura answered, placing a hand on Chapel's shoulder. "What do you say?"

A smile growing on her face to match Uhura's, Chapel just nodded.

...(pov)...

Carol Marcus paced as she waited for her communications request to be answered. She didn't have too long to wait before the face of Jim Kirk appeared on the screen. "Yes honey," he smiled.

She rolled her eyes in return. Their break up had been an amicable one that retained a friendship and trust with each other. Which certainly helped with the fact they were raising a child together while managing careers within Starfleet; it was nice to have that kind of back up. "I got my orders," she said, getting straight to the point of her call.

Jim read her face, and sighed, "You think I'm not going to like them."

"I don't really care what you think of them. What I do know is that they are going to make things very complicated and that one of us is going to have to sacrifice their position to be with David," she told him, keeping nothing back.

Jim ran a hand over his face in a tired manner. "Okay, so nothing super new. Whatcha got?"

"Chief Science Officer on the Enterprise for a five year mission," she said, finally coming to sit.

Jim whistled, obviously impressed. "Carol, that is your dream position."

She rested her head in her hands and groaned. "I know. I really want to take it, but I don't see how it can be practical."

"No, you have to take it," Jim spoke forcefully, but kindly. "You can't let this opportunity slip from your hands."

"But how can I go with only seeing David on shore leave for five years?" she asked no one in particular.

"We will call you every day," Jim promised.

"How are you going to take care of him? Right now I am stationed on a colony," she looked up, meeting his eyes.

"Well, I received two offers, remember," he said.

"One was a captaincy, how can you give up that?"

"The other was first officer on an experimental ship on which family and civilians live as well as officers," he pointed out instead instead. "How could I pass that unique opportunity up?"

"…The one that Leonard is serving on with Joanna and her little family?" Carol recalled.

Jim beamed, "Yeah, Bones is going to be CMO! And Joanna head nurse."

"Wasn't there also something about Vulcans?" Carol tried to remember what the full article that appeared in the 'Fleet newsfeeds read. "It is combined some VSA with 'Fleet."

Jim nodded. "Some half human, half Vulcan son of a famous Earth ambassador-"

"Amanda Grayson?"

"Yes, Grayson. Anyway, he is going to be captain, probably to ease any tensions."

Carol looked thoughtful, before chuckling. "Leonard and Vulcans?"

Jim grinned back. "Tell me about it. I better be on there to make sure he doesn't make so sort of interplanetary incident."

Carol nodded, eyes softening. "You sure this is what you want? I can always stay here and you take that captaincy on the… _Farragut _right?"

Jim shook his head. "No, I could never live with myself if I let you pass up on the Enterprise. You will be out making new discoveries every day, it will be like heaven for you. Anyway, you passed up the last good job to stay planet side with David. My turn to pull my weight." His eyes went a bit misty. "Anyway, I'd love to see more of him."

Her heart hurt at the thought of leaving David behind, but knew that Jim was right and that her son would be in the best hands. "You will get to see him 24/7." She murmured.

She heard the front door chime open, and she signed, feeling bittersweet with excitement and mother's worry. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey Mom, I'm home!" a mass of light curls came bounding into the room attached to the eight-year-old boy. He spotted the screen. "Daddy!"

She stood. "I'll leave you two to talk," she said, pressing a kiss to David's head before making her way out of the room.

She had a lot to think about.

...(pov)...

Janice Rand made her way towards engineering. The halls had been eerily empty since they docked for refitting and updating, as well as crew rotation, above Earth a week ago. All of this was in preparation for the historic five year mission they had been assigned. She passed a few of the dock workers who had been on board the entirety of this week, but there just wasn't nearly as many of them as on a fully manned ship.

At the moment though, Rand was the highest ranking officer onboard, having offered to stay after gaining her promotion to first officer. Half of it was because she was so relieved not to have been transferred as so many were, the Enterprise had quickly become her home. The other was because she really didn't have anywhere else interesting or pressing to go.

Entering engineering, she quickly spotted and made a beeline for the person she had come to see. Charlene Masters had stayed behind too, making sure no one did anything to her engines that she didn't first approve. It made Rand feel a whole lot more comfortable to know she was looking after her home, especially as Masters had been on board as long as she had. Masters was known for her ability to baby the dilithium crystals and get the longest lasting travel at high warp in the fleet.

Through their shared dedication to the ship, Rand and Masters had formed a close bond, somewhere between friends and sisters, for which Rand was hugely grateful. "Charlene," Rand beamed, coming to her side. "I have come to persuade you to give up your noble vigil and actually consume a full meal."

Masters smiled back as she glanced up, before returning her attention the open paneling in front of her. "Give me a few more minutes," she said, tweaking some wires. "I can't leave just yet."

Rand tutted, "Knowing you, those minutes will become hours." She leaned over to get a look at what she was doing. "Let me give it ago."

"Yes, sir," Masters carefully pulled her hands out to snap a teasing salute, which Rand was ever so tempted to answer by sticking her tongue out. But it wouldn't do to have some other crewmember catch one of their commanding officers doing such a thing, so she easily restrained.

Rand spotted the problem Masters had been working on and finished the process of untangling wires that had been put in the wrong place, replacing the fuse that was blow due to the mistake. Rand frowned at the sloppy work and commented, "What fool did this?"

Masters looked up from the PADD a passing yeoman had given her. "I have yet to find them," she said, signing whatever the paperwork was and passing it back the man standing at her elbow. "But some cadets came through here on a field trip, so I'm suspecting a practical joke."

Slipping back the final chip, Rand replaced the panel, "I'll send in a word to the Academy."

"That would be wise, someone willing to fiddle with the systems onboard a starship for kicks isn't Starfleet marital," Masters said seriously, before a smile returned to her face and she held out her arm. "But first, we haven't celebrated our promotions, I have been living on bad replicator coffee for days, and I know a good bar in a sleepy New England town."

Rand took the offered arm with her own, linking them, smiling also. "Well then, I will crush the dreams of some young cadet in the morning. Lead on!"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Uhura couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful flagship of the Federation glowing with the void of space and its pinpricks of stars behind it. M'Ress dutifully took over flight control of their shuttle pod as they came into dock, purring contently. Chapel had moved from her seat behind them to lean in between, also entranced with the view.

"There she is," Uhura whispered, as though the spell would break. "The _Enterprise_."

"Your starship," Chapel responded, her normally steady voice tinkling with excitement.

"She is even morrre beautiful than I imagined," M'Ress remarked, taking a longer rout to the shuttle bay so that they might admire the ship from all angles.

The smile had had become her near constant companion since her commission was back, as Uhura continued to admire her ship. "Thank you both for joining me on this new adventure."

"I think we should be thanking you for bringing us along," Chapel said, pressing a hand to her shoulder.

"Captain Grrreene didn't apprrreciate yourrr leaving," M'Ress chuckled.

"Or my taking you two with me," Uhura added, glancing away from the ship for a moment.

"Only because he lost his best officers," Chapel supplied in humor. "How is he going to run the _Excalibur_ without us?"

Uhura shrugged, all in good humor. "I met some Russia kid as I was disembarking who I think is joining the bridge crew. He seemed quite brilliant, maybe Greene has hope."

With that they quieted, as M'Ress prepared for the final descent after their clearance flashed on one of the screens. The shuttle bays opened, and the size of their new home hit them. Uhura hummed with appreciation, but found she wasn't as nervous about this command as she thought she would be if given a captaincy. While she felt the weight of responsibility for this ship and the lives it would carry into deep space, but she felt that she could do it, that this was right. And that was a lovely feeling that she held inside, that she was following the path she was meant to.

...(pov)...

When Rand was alerted that the new Captain was docking, and not taking the transporter, she made her way to the shuttle bay post haste. She was curious to see who she would be serving under for the next five years of her life, as well as who would be taking care of the ship and crew. She had read the woman's impressive profile, but knew not to make any desertions until she had met the captain herself.

Once the control panel read that it was repressurized, she opened the door and made her way to meet those stepping out of the shuttle. Spotting the one dressed in the green captain's tunic and pants, Rand approached her first.

The captain quickly spotted the ranking on Rand's sleeve and straighten. "Permission to board?"

Rand nodded, letting her face soften. "Permission granted. And with that, I turn command to you."

The woman held out her hand, her face having natural warmth that stimulated trust, "Nyota Uhura."

Rand met it with her own, "Janice Rand."

"Nice to meet you… is it alright if I call you Janice? I don't want to be disrespectful," the Captain asked.

"I usually only let my friends call me by my first name," Rand found herself admitting, glancing at the officers who had come to stand at each side of Uhura. She didn't feel intimidated though, it seemed they were just as curious as her. There was always a time of adjustment when new crews came together, before hopefully finding harmony.

Captain Uhura just smiled in understanding. "Well, then I hope to gain the honor."

"Thank you," Rand found herself saying, thinking that the captain probably wouldn't have much of a problem.

Uhura now changed the focus of the conversation to introduce her companions. "This is Christine Chapel, our CMO." The woman clad in the blue uniform dress stepped forward with her hand out. Rand took it, and felt the steady confidence of a doctor contained in that mere appendage.

"And this is M'Ress, our communications officer." They bowed ever so slightly to each other, Caitalians one of the species not so in to handshakes.

There was a brief moment of silence, where everyone gave each other a once over, while still suspending any major judgment, before Rand spoke up once again, turning to head back to the door. "You would follow me sir, I can give you a tour of the ship," she gestured forward. "I can also introduce you to our chief engineer, who you will find tough to spot anywhere away from the engines. That being said, she is the very best in the 'Fleet."

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Uhura moved to match her pace, Chapel and M'Ress falling in step behind.

"I wonder if you could head to sickbay first, so I can get orientated?" Chapel spoke up.

Rand nodded, glancing back, "Sounds like a good place to start as any." Directing her attention back to the captain, she continued, "We will work our way from there."

...(pov)...

Chapel swept about the medbay, taking in the feel of it, mind cataloging where everything was located. She observed everything in silence after the other three had left to continue the tour. She knew she would have to get Uhura to give it to her again, so both of them could get the best sense of the ship and lives in their hands.

As she made her way back to where the medical supplies were located, to look over the exact organization that should be the same from ship to ship but tended not too be exact, she nearly ran into another doctor exiting. There was a moment where they both straighten and took a step back, before a gentle smile came on the man's face.

"New CMO?" he asked, moving to place the PADD he was carrying under one arm to take her offered hand.

"Christine Chapel," she supplied.

"Doctor M'Benga, your second," he said, taking the PADD back in hand and offering it to her. "I just finished doing a final inventory, and we seem to miraculously have everything we might need."

Chapel nodded, beginning to read through the list. "Mind going over it with me on more time?"

"Not at all, there isn't much else for us to do as we prepare to disembark."

"I can only hope it stays that way," she commented, following him into the supply room.

"Same, but when we have a ship full of explorers on our hands…" M'Benga shrugged in a what-is-one-to-do sort of way.

"I know the captain, and while she won't try to find trouble," Chapel sighed, both in a fond and put upon manner. "Let's just say it tends to find her anyway."

"Our first isn't much better," he rumbled in good humor. "I quite new to the Enterprise myself though, got assigned a few months before the last mission ended." He explained.

Chapel nodded, and they were silent for a while besides swapping little comments on the supplies and locations. Catching sight of some Caitalian medicinal prompted her to ask about non-human personnel.

M'Benga's eyebrows drew together in thought. "I just read over the list, you can probably pull the exact information up on the PADD."

"Of course," she was already working on doing so.

"But off the top of my head I know we have a few Caitailians and Orions each and the usual near quarter of the crew are Andorian and Tellarite," he continued.

Her eyebrow raised in surprise as she pulled up the exact list. "Two Vulcan engisns?"

He smiled and nodded, "Yes, that is new, they just barely got transferred."

"I don't know more than the basics on Vulcan physiology," Chapel worried. "They are such a secretive species."

"I worked at a Vulcan clinic," M'Benga sad. "I can teach you, or take them as patients, which ever works."

Chapel looked impressed, and understood why he was her second. "I'd love to learn all you can teach me, but for the mean time let's put them on your patient list."

"Sounds good," he nodded, and they went back to inventory. Chapel decided it was set up well and she would be able to find what she needed with ease.

They both looked up when a nurse stuck her head in, "Jabilo, we are all heading over to the mess hall, if you want to join," before disappearing again.

He looked over at Chapel in question, "Shall we? I can introduce you to who I know of the team, and we can meet the new transfers."

Chapel nodded, knowing it would be good to see her team, though she had imagined it being a bit more formal. Then again, it was probably best if they really got to know each other, to be the best team they could. "Let's head," she said, slipping the PADD under one arm so she could continue researching the crew.

...(pov)...

Marcus was on one of the last beam up's to the ship, having to travel to Earth and make sure David was all set and happy with Jim. She had tried to make her departure as the main figure in her son's life quick for his sake, making sure the focus was on the excitement of living with his dad, even though all she wanted to do was hold him tight and never let go. But so was life in the service.

Now she had to turn her focus onto the mission at hand, burying her melancholy under excitement. And she was excited, possibly more excited than even when she got her acceptance letter from the Academy. The _Enterprise_ had already made quite a name for herself, and being placed on a five year mission with the "best of the best" was a huge honor. Not to mention this was a first rate opportunity to make new scientific discoveries; the realty of it all hadn't quite sunken in.

That was, until she found herself on the transporter pad in the ship itself. As the other crewmen cleared off around her, her curious gaze made its way around the room, soaking up the feeling of being on a starship after eight years. She meandered to the door, the transporter officer giving her a knowing smile as she was the last one to leave the room, when the doors opened before she reached sensor rang.

A woman eluding the confidence and compassion (not to mention wearing the uniform) of command entered, a professional smile on her face. Marcus was reminded of Jim's words before their parting. "I was up for the Enterprise but got out shown by whoever your new commanding officer is." Marcus knew Jim was in the top of his line of work as much as she was, so whoever got picked over him had succeeded an impressive feat.

"Science officer Marcus, reporting for duty sir," she said, snapping to attention with the drilled in skill of an Academy graduate.

"At ease, and welcome aboard," the captain held out her hand. Once they had swapped introductions, Uhura asked, "Care to join me on the bridge for launch?"

Marcus nodded, feeling the most content she had toward this adventure since it was first proposed. "I'd love too."

...(pov)...

Uhura made her way from the turbolift towards the captain's chair, keeping her face an easy relaxed confidence and taking her time as she felt all eyes turn towards her. The helmsman, Sulu, was an old academy acquaintance, and after catching her eye briefly, he turned to finish any last minute preparations for launch. The ensign practically glowing with excitement was at navigations at his side. Gaila was her name, if Uhura remember correctly. She had been told to keep an eye on the Orion native, as she looked to be one of the 'Fleet's next up and coming. As, in fact, was Sulu.

Science Officer Marcus, who seemed just as competent as Uhura could have hoped from their brief meeting, went to take her station. Rand stood next to the captain's chair, attention seeming to focus on the screen, but Uhura knew better. The commander was getting a feel for her new captain, and Uhura knew while rank guaranteed her loyalty, it would be Uhura's actions that would gain her respect.

And being hesitant to sit in the captain's chair wouldn't look good, not with all attention on her. So as much as she would have like to take a moment, to feel the full meaning of what it was to sit in her own command chair for the first time, instead she sat with the same presence as she had entering the bridge.

"Pre-warp perpetrations completed sir," Sulu announced, and everyone turned to the view screen, anticipation hanging tangibly in the air.

"Take us out, Mr. Sulu," Uhura commanded. "Then enter warp along Starfleet's ordered path once we are clear."

His "yes sir," echoed around the bridge, as even breathing seemed to cease. In a time that both seemed its own eternity and yet a mere moment, they were clear. Sulu expertly brought them into warp, the ship jumping into it with ease.

Uhura let a grin light her face. "Congratulations ladies, gents, and otherwise identifying officers, we are on our way to strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."


End file.
